Ohio Senate candidate Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) said Friday he would support someone other than President Joe Biden in 2024.
Claiming the announcement was “not breaking news,” Ryan said his aversion to Biden is no “different than the President has said himself,” Fox News reported. “He [Biden] said from the very beginning he was going to be a bridge to the next generation of leaders.”
Biden’s approval rating in Ohio is one of the lowest among swing states. According to Civiqs polling on Friday, Biden is underwater in Ohio by 25 points (34-59 percent).
Ryan’s Trump-endorsed opponent JD Vance slammed Ryan for being unsure “what he wants with Joe Biden, whether he wants to bear hug him or keep him at arm’s length.” Ryan campaigned with Biden in Ohio on Friday.
Republican Senate candidate for Ohio JD Vance listens to former President Donald Trump at a rally on April 23, 2022, in Delaware, Ohio. (Joe Maiorana, File/AP)
“Ryan has to pretend that he doesn’t support Joe Biden 100% of the time,” he told Fox News. “But he also can’t alienate the far left because he needs them to fund his TV commercials…now he’s saying on the day that he’s appearing with Joe Biden, somebody else needs to run for president.”
Ryan, who has been a House member for about 20 years, has stated before that “we need new leadership” in 2024, but according to the Republican National Committee, Ryan has voted with “Biden 100% of the time.”
August polling shows Ryan losing to Vance by about five points.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.